School falls shy of federal goals

Marisa O’Neil

Of 15 Newport-Mesa schools presenting student performance data last

week, all but one met standards set by the federal No Child Left

Behind Act.

To meet the standard, 13.6% of the school’s students must test at

the proficient or above level in English. Whittier Elementary in

Costa Mesa did not meet that federal goal, according to the reports

presented by principals to the district’s board of trustees on

Tuesday.

Whittier and 10 other schools also fell below the state’s Academic

Performance Index goal.

Peggy Anatol, director of assessment for the district’s schools,

said that Pomona and Wilson elementary schools -- which will present

their data on Oct. 14 -- also performed below federal goals in No

Child Left Behind’s annual yearly progress evaluations. She said that

the district is trying to appeal the schools’ status.

To avoid losing funding, schools that do not meet goals in math or

English for two consecutive years must revise the school plan, use

funds for staff development and allow parents to send their children

to schools that are meeting the standards.

In the first group of presentations, five schools -- Mariners,

Eastbluff, Harbor View, Newport and Newport Coast elementary --

exceeded the Academic Performance Index goal of 800 out of a possible

1,000. Harbor View, with a score of 899, topped the list.

On the other end of the scale, Whittier received a 602. TeWinkle,

Killybrooke and Davis elementary also scored below 700 in the

statewide assessment, which is based on testing data.

College Park, Kaiser and California elementary schools, Ensign

Middle School and Newport Harbor High School all received scores

between 700 and 800.

For Academic Performance Index assessments, schools must also

provide data for any subgroups that make up more than 15% of the

student population. Neither Eastbluff, Harbor View, Mariners or

Newport, with a predominantly Caucasian population, reported any

subgroups. Newport Coast recorded an Asian subgroup, which scored a

902 in the Academic Performance Index.

All the other schools reported data for a Hispanic subgroup and

some for a socio-economically disadvantaged subgroup. Both groups

scored consistently lower than the schools’ overall populations.

English language proficiency appears to play a major role in the

testing data. Most schools show a larger discrepancy between native

speakers and English learners in language arts than in math.

Whittier’s principal, Sharon Blakely, reported that the school has

a 79% English learner population. Whittier exceeded the federal

standard of 16% math proficiency, reporting that 39% of its students

met or exceeded the standard.

Whittier has set up a plan to improve English learners’ growth,

and meet or exceed federal standards by next year, according to

Blakely’s report. Each principal outlined basic strategies for

improvement at their schools, including implementation of the

district’s new Houghton Mifflin reading program.

District schools that did not present their performance and

testing data reports this week will do so Tuesday at a study session

from 2 to 5 p.m. and during the board of trustees’ regular meeting at

6:30 p.m.

The study session and meeting are open to the public. They will be

held in the Roderick H. MacMillian Board Meeting Room at the District

Education Center, 2985-A Bear St. in Costa Mesa. For a full schedule

of presentations, go to https://www.nmusd.k12.ca.us/depts/boe/am/.

* MARISA O’NEIL covers education. She may be reached at (949)

574-4268 or by e-mail at [email protected].